Hi, I'm new to the forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place. I'm pretty certain by trying to be thorough, I'll end up providing information not relevant to my issue and perhaps get off topic for a thought or two...so my apologies in advance.

Here's a little background on my issue: I have a 2006 Dodge diesel 3500 dually - and my grid heater light came on while I was driving. It was a slightly warm day without any rain...I live in Alaska but I'm on the coastline, so it's never very warm here and it rains most of the time.

Back to the issue...the warning chime squawked about 3 times and the grid heater light has stayed on ever since. The warning chimes sound about 3 times every time I start my rig, when the light fails to go out after the heater cycles. The grid heater appears to still be cycling normally. I seem to have less power if you punch it on takeoff, and possibly a little rougher idle, but other than that it seems to be running normally. I feel like my slightly rough idle is related to my number 5 injector.

This issue started a couple days after I had a stereo/GPS system custom installed, I'm not saying this could be related but thought I'd mention it...just in case.

On March 18th, 2013 I had to replace the ECM - so that critter is basically brand new and up to-date.

I have a weak fuel pump, and my number 5 injector is functioning at 94%, but the rest are functioning at 100%. I've read some posts on forums mentioning injector issues causing the grid heater icon to stay on...I don't think the injector is causing my issue, but it's worth asking if anyone thinks so.

A little more info on my fuel system and injectors, because I think they should be holding their own and not deteriorating...(?) (Or is that just wishful thinking?) When I had my ECM replaced, the dealership tested my fuel system and injectors. They said my fuel looked awesome, very clean and no water. Every fuel up, I use Howes fuel conditioner and no-ash synthetic Royal Purple 2-cycle oil, along with making sure a tanker hasn't filled up the station within a few days....so the main tanks are calm and settled. I always try to fuel up first thing in the morning, and I add fuel slowly to maximize my fuel intake. (I drive by the gas station twice everyday on my way to and from work, so I keep an eye out for when the tankers are there.)

I've had my truck into a very reputable local shop, and it's not throwing any codes, but they can't figure out what's wrong...unfortunately they specialize in Fords, not Dodge! They wanted me to take it to the Dodge dealership and have them try find it...and aside from being very pricy....sadly this dealership seems to have very questionable expertise when working on diesels. I can't stand the thought of spending obscene amounts of hard earned money just so they can hunt for my problem...unless I have no other choice, so I've opted to just continue monitoring it and continue to drive it for now.

I bought my rig from used car dealership, so there's no warranty. My commute is only about 35 miles round trip per day....so it's light driving without any hauling or hills. This truck is my daily commuter and my pride and joy, so it's babied and gently used, but I also really enjoy waking up that big purring cummins too! I just love these rigs...big grin! This is my second dodge diesel, I had an 2002 basically identical to this one and totally loved it too. I believe in a well maintained and well cared for rig....and unfortunately it's taking time to work out the kinks from the previous owner.

In case it's relevant, my rig has roughly about 106,073 miles on it.

Does anyone have any ideas on what's wrong? Could it be a faulty sensor or something else that might be a simple fix? Wait, do diesel engines and simple fixes go together in the same line of thought? Sorry, a little humor there! Lol..

I would greatly appreciate any input and thoughts. Thanks!

 

i know dodge had a bad ecm flash that would cause this. you might talk to a dodge dealership about this.

 

Okay thanks for the heads up, guess maybe I have no choice but take it to the Dealership then.

 

A little update.....this morning my gridheater light went out on start up like it should and no chimes......only, I have just been monitoring it and driving it everyday....and never had anything done yet. Any thoughts why the light went off finally and it suddenly fixed itself?

 

My truck is doing almost the same, but without the lights on the dash. Wednesday I take it in to the dealership to see if they can help out. I'll keep you posted. Did you find any answers from your dealership?

 

The light went out on my rig for about three weeks, then came back on. I haven't been to the dealership yet, been avoiding the expense. It seems to have less power when the light is on, but the grid heater keeps working normally...I can hear it come on and shut off and see the drawdown on the lights/battery when it cycles. Otherwise I don't notice any difference in my rigs performance while the light is on.

I'm interested in hearing your results from the dealership, and also more details on what your rig is doing.

Thanks for your input and for posting a reply.

Jenn

 

Have you put a smarty on recently? SOmetimes they conflict with the new ecm flash and cause code P1222 to come on. It is a injector return flow sensor i think. Your injectors may be fine but it sets the parameters so close that they are impossible to keep within the limits with the newflash and smarty tuning. This happened on my 04.5. When it lights up cycle the key on off 3 times it will show the code. Don't hold me by the exacts on the code running off of memory here. Does it come on after decelerating and chime ten times?

 

I wish, but no smarty yet.....my rigs basically stock, and it's not throwing any codes....that's what's so weird. Chimes 5 times. It's crazy, my grid heater light stays on ALL THE TIME. Sorry for the caps...but added for emphasis....it never goes out. Other than like I mentioned when it randomly went out while I was driving and ran normally for a few weeks, then randomly came back on again and has stayed on since. I can't put a pattern to what it's doing or why.

The grid heater cycles normally, battery draw down, lights dim etc.

I have less power while the light's on...but other than that it runs normally. Well, seems like I have some black smoke now when I step on it, but could be I'm just letting her idle along too much trying to conserve fuel though, and maybe she's just getting a little carboned up.

I did have my ECM replaced March 18th....so perhaps the program could be faulty or something? I've heard it could need reflashing, but I just don't feel good about having a dealership "search" for why it's doing this....been reading some horror stories where folks end up without any answers.....and a huge bill....while the dealership throws a lot of parts at it, trying to solve the problem without success.

Sounding like it's a Chrysler mystery maybe, eh? Frustrating.....

 

No mystery, you have injector problems. The WTS, chimes, and derate are all part of a diagnostic that is in the latest flashes from Dodge. It is telling you the calculated return rate for the injectors is exceeding the maximum. In other words you have a fuel system issue that could cause a catastrophic failure.

You need to quit guessing and get some diagnostics done. First get it scanned to see what DTC's are present so you can quit guessing. Likely you will see P1222 and\or P1223. Next get an injector return flow test done to validate the issue.

More than likely, the one injector at 94% is the good one and you have 1-3 that are exceeding flow rates in the firing sequence. Get a competent shop to run the cylinder contribution along with a return flow test.

Excessive return flow is either excessive wear in the injector return circuit or you have 1 or more injector pintles that are not seating correctly and are dribbling fuel all the time. You MIGHT get lucky and just have sticky pintles but usually that is not the case. You could try filling the filter housing with SeaFoam or CRC Injector cleaner and idling the truck for a minute then let it sit for 12-24 hours, then dose a fresh full tank of fuel with a quart of Power Service and a quart of 2 stroke oil then drive the snot out if.

You do run the risk of melting a piston or breaking rings driving it if you have over fueling stuck injectors. The safest way is just replace the injectors with known good ones but that is $$.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I did have a competent shop do my injector test, the dodge dealership. They were the folks that said all my injectors are all 100% except the number 5, which is functioning at 94 %. They did a complete test. My rig is not throwing any codes, as I mentioned, and I also had a reputable shop run the test. I really appreciate your feedback and ideas though.....thanks!